Welcome to the January/February 2009 contest voting. We have 9 Multiplayer maps and 4 Single Player maps this time.

The voting works as follows: Play a few games of the stage in question, in the intended gametype for judging, and give the map a vote from 0 to 10, no decimals. You can not vote on your own map. Votes where the voter obviously did not play the level in its intended gametype, or where the voter did not play the multiplayer maps with other real players will be discarded. To encourage voting, if you are an author and you judge all of the competitor's maps, the lowest score on your map will be dropped. Please be as unbiased as possible for the author or the look of the map. It's all about how good the map plays, nothing else.

Although it's not necessary, it's very helpful to make comments about what you liked and didn't like about the map, so the author can improve his skill for future attempts.

Judging will end March 9th at midnight GMT (March 8th, 7:00 PM EST). The scores will be then averaged, and the person with the highest score is the winner.

Winners will have their usertitle changed to "Contest Winner", and will be given a golden username. This will last up and until the next contest winners are decided.

New Super Mario Zone: 10/10
This level was fun, creative, and challenging. I had fun playing it. The <ripped> graphics were good, too. Some of the "?" blocks are regular FOFs, but that wasn't a problem in the slightest. I enjoyed it throughout the entire gameplay.

North Pole Factory Zone: 9/10
This level was great as well. Some <light> puzzle elements, it stuck to the theme, and a little humor. The only problem I had was the mixing of a factory theme and a snow theme. Other than that, well done.

Sapphire Coast Zone: 6/10
I thought this stage was pretty good. The design was decent, and the placement of the "springamobob" enemies was interesting. However, I felt a slight confusion at some of the crossing of multiple paths, and the level was way too short. It also didn't seem much like a sapphire place or a coast place.

Mr E Special Stage 1: 4/10
I honestly didn't like this stage. It's alright for the first special stage, but it wasn't that good on its own. I felt like it was too easy, and the design was bland.

SP Levels are reviewed immediately after either finishing the level, or getting a total game over (no lives, no continues). All levels are played on normal difficulty.

NSMB Zone: 3/10
Well... it's pretty. The graphics are okay, and the enemy designs are acceptable. But the gameplay is poor, in my opinion. There was a part near the beginning where I had to hit a switch, but didn't know where to go for a while. Eventually, I found out that the switch had opened a door back the way I came, which wasted a good two minutes of the level going in circles. What I really disliked was the Piranha Plants shooting at you. From the foreground and the background. It's a bit aggravating when I'm trying to navigate a section while an unkillable target threatens to knock you into a death pit.

North Pole Factory Zone: 5/10
For a Christmas themed level, I don't think I've ever said "OH GOD" so many times in a game as of narrowly dying.The difficulty borderlines on between hard, and cheap at times. Especially at the floating ice platforms over the death pit. At the first factory part, I found that it is easy to go in circles due to lack of arrows or hints at direction. Plus, most of the level seemed bland with just lots of decoration things thrown here or there.

Sapphire Coast Zone Act 2: 6/10
first things first: Your level header seems to use the config for GFZ1. Might want to fix that. Now, then, on to the actual review.
It was alright. There was really nothing that I disliked about the level, but there seemed to be a lack of gimmicks. I only remember the water slide and the spring turtles as anything really interesting. Would've been nice to know that the first slide led to a death pit if you didn't jump, by the way.

Mr E Special Stage 1: 5/10
The timer is a bit lower than I would've liked, and it seemed like there were barely more rings than the requirement, so I couldn't really finish this. But no real flaws other than that, I suppose.

New Super Mario Zone by fawfulfan - 1/10
And all for concept and effort. This stage is unplayable. Constant blind jumps, enemies from offscreen that shoot you. Absurdly buggy mechanics including blocks that don't work right and an impossible ending sequence that simply doesn't work at all. This level is just a wreck. The IDEA here is great and could be done very well, but the level is just abominably bad.

North Pole Factory Zone by SonicMaster - 6/10
I liked this, actually. Exploring the alternate paths was enjoyable and there was a decent amount to the stage, but it didn't really feel like it did anything special. No gimmicks, just straight run to the finish. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not exceptional.

Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade the Hedgehog - 5/10
Entirely and completely average. I assume the header not existing was an accident. The level itself is completely average. I liked the green emerald's hidden room, but this stage just needs more content.

Mr E Special Stage 1 by Glaber - 4/10
Another boring special stage from you. I don't think there's anything I can say to this that I haven't said before. Might I suggest something more substantial?

Single Player:
New Super Mario Zone by fawfulfan: 2/10
Okay, this map is really hard to navigate. It's also cramped. You also put some of your scenery in front of the camera so I couldn't see certain things like myself and some enemies. It was also hard to get through those tight spots, and I get stuck a lot because of it. Some of the extra visuals just look strange in the game too.

North Pole Factory Zone by SonicMaster: 7/10
Nothing special about this one, but it was pretty fun. I liked some of the traps and obstacles.

Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade the Hedgehog: 6/10
The level was really bland. I just went here and there, but it wasn't very challenging. Just running through it all. I liked the turtle enemies however. Also, you seemed to have forgotten your level header.

Mr E Special Stage 1 by Glaber: 1/10
Okay, this level isn't very interesting. It's okay, but it's just....a special stage. Collect the rings and bam. The visuals are also very ugly.
Next time what you can do to improve your special stages is make them hard, add pretty visuals, and a gimmick for collecting the rings. AND, a special stage doesn't always have to be special stage-themed.

Match:
MAPA1 - Boringe by SonicMaster: 6/10
This map is O.K., but not that good or bad. It felt a little cramped it some parts, but I kind of liked the flooding room. The little sectors that gave you points was a nice idea, but three points didn't really make a difference. Although it was nice to say uneven scores.

MAPA2 - Toxic Plant Zone by HyperKnux: 6/10
I like the layout, but it's a little small. Homing is an interesting choice, it messed things up a little but not that much, surprisingly, and I think it did good with the level.

MAPA3 - Rook's Valley Zone by Drake Spyker :8/10
Now this is a good map. Despite the auto-rail combo, it didn't really effect the level that much. I liked the teleport thing, it was fun to use/get used on.

MAPA4 - Destiny Islands by Darkness Claw: 5/10
This is a decent map. It just isn't good for match. (Maybe tag.) The back side seemed underused though, which I think was kind of good considering there were two weapon rings there. A lot of places just didn't seem to get used. Also, broke some contest rules. And I know you added custom music, but the level now has no music.

MAPA5 - Castle de Space by Space K. Green: 7/10
Nice map. Very large, so it's good for a large number of players. But when you have a normal amount of players it can be hard to find each other. That is my only complaint however; the scenery is beautiful, you put good lighting, good decor, the stage is just very pretty. (And no lag!) And it just plays good in match.

CTF:
MAPA6 - Space Base Zone by Jellybones69
This is my map, so I'm not going to comment on it.

MAPA7 - Overheated Zone by SonicMaster: 6/10
This map is very hard to navigate. That's it. It's hard to find the bases and a lot of things. Once I knew where at least the bases were though, it got a little better, but my team mates still didn't know.

Circuit:
MAPA8 - Heavenly Fountain Zone by SonicMaster: 8/10
Now this is a fun map. Tails actually has a chance on this one. It flowed well, I just didn't like the fountain, which felt awkward to use.

MAPA9 - Aqueduct Circuit Zone by Ezer.Arch: 7/10
Decent map. It's the shiznit. It's got obstacles here and there and was pretty fun, but for some parts there was just the water ahead of you, and you thok thok thokked.

I can't really find much to say aside from what's been said about this level already. It's bland and boring on its own.

Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade the Hedgehog: 6/10

I liked this one, the gameplay was good, and it definitely flowed well. It was a little spacious and empty in some areas and the opening area is very pretty while the rest of the level seems to be a little lacking in scenery, but aside from that I have no complaints with the aesthetics. Also, the custom enemies were awesome and you can bet I put them to good use.

New Super Mario Bros. by fawfulfan: 1/10

Um, well, let's see...the custom stuff is interesting, but there's not much else to say about this wad that's positive. The problem here is that you've made the platforms in this level (and platforming is used quite often) really small, which isn't gonna go over well with SRB2's crappy current 2D engine.

North Pole Factory Zone by SonicMaster: 8/10

Like always, SonicMaster's submission puts me in a good mood. This level had some nice gimmicks, good design and good execution, and decent aesthetics. Having only been taking part in these contests for I believe two months now, I haven't played any of your earlier SP contest levels that I could compare this to, but it's not a very big deal considering how good this level is. This level, hands down, deserves to win Best SP level for this contest.

New Super Mario Zone by fawfulfan - 2/10
A cool and somewhat interesting idea brought down by the horridness of SRB2's 2D engine, some bad level design choices, and things which just don't work properly. The level didn't look too bad, I'll give you that, but the custom enemy sprites were just too pixelated, the slide thing at the end is almost impossible to do correctly, I haven't finished the level yet, and it's SO HARD to go around the damn level, the first part is EXREMELY difficult without making a mistake, and the rest of the level is even worse.

North Pole Factory Zone by SonicMaster - 7/10
Quite a good level here. It looks nice (although those were NOT spikes that were jutting up from the ground =)), plays nice and kept my interest. Although, I thought that multiple paths would make this level nicer, and at the first part of the level I got a little lost, so yeah, that's my two cents. What you've got here is nice, although I've seen better from you, SonicMaster.

Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade the Hedgehog - 7/10
Ah yes, I remember Act 1, I rated that quite highly, and this new act does not disappoint. =)
The new spring beetle enemy is one of my favourite parts of the level, I found myself bouncing off of them while destroying them and landing in all sorts of places quite amusing, The wonderful texturing, good looks, multiple paths and replayability kept me coming back to the level to get some more. However, there are a couple of problems I noticed: No level headers, I assumed that was an accident, so I would put on Techno Hill Act 1 music and roared away, and I also noticed some glitches in OpenGL mode at the end of the stage that were a little nasty, as you get to the end level sign turn around and you will see them, it was also a little short. Good job. =)
Also, by any chance did you base any of this off of Rocky Pass by Oogaland? I noticed an uncanny resemblance between them, and that's more than textures.

Mr E Special Stage 1 by glaber - 0/10
Honestly, glaber, stop putting special stages in the OLDC. The textures were REALLY annoying, it was difficult and boring, it sucks, big time. I expect MUCH better from someone who's created MUCH better.

Oh, jeez. I'm not sure where to start. I have a lot to talk about, so I'll put it in spoiler tags.

[spoiler:164fbec208]Well, I guess I'll start by noting how this level relates to New Super Mario Bros. As you might expect, the level music, enemies, graphics, and textures are almost all NSMB themed and use actual level music and graphics from the game itself. As far as theme goes, this is actually very true to the game it's based off of; paratroopas and paragoombas flap around whilst fire-breathing piranha plants pop out of pipes. Various power-ups can be found in certain prize blocks, even springs, which are also Mario themed. There's a bittersweet sense of aesthetics here, as the scenery is quite varied and set the mood for the level fairly well, yet some of these textures look like cake mix, and it's not pleasing to look at; the foreground can be obstructive at times, as there may be a stack of breakable blocks in front of the screen when you need to be fighting enemies. It's glaringly obvious that, for the most part, the enemies are simply graphic replacements for default enemies. I kinda liked seeing a paragoomba act like a crawla commander, but paratroopas are not supposed to be crapping midlevel, and it definitely better not be jettisyn bombs. The pop-up turrets have now been replaced by fire piranha plants that come out of pipes, but rather shooting the usual pop-up turret bullet, it shoots the other turret fire; this is very bad for 2D levels, because 2D mode is shoddy, and turret fire is fast.

The level design problems are apparent in the first room: all activation sector-type FOFs are haywire. Some times a prize or breakable block activates when you hit it, some times it doesn't; some times a note block makes you bounce, some times it doesn't. The reason why is simply because the size of those blocks are too small. It took me a while to figure out that you could actually break the blocks and such until I did it by accident, and progressing forward at the beginning requires you to hit a prize block. This all could have been solved if you simply used slightly bigger block textures and increased the linedef lengths.

The other level design problem most frequent throughout the level is the platforming. Sometimes you have coins that lead the way to safe ground when jumping, but many times it's simply a leap of faith. That's really bad for this particular level, because there are many platforms looming over bottomless pits that really force the player to go slow. Whether you thok, run too fast, or get hit by a goomba, lightning-fast piranha fire, or a paragoomba that actually went through a wall, there's a 90% chance that you're going to fall down that pit.

The level design may appear to have a handful of secrets, but don't let that fool you into thinking this level is nonlinear. This level is strictly set to one path from Point A to Point B. So, have fun getting shot out of nowhere by that same damn piranha plant and falling down that same damn hole. Or maybe thokking and bouncing off a note block that wasn't even on screen so that you could fall down a bottomless pit in a slightly different way.

When I thought it couldn't get any worse, the final part "introduced" to me the waterfall gimmick. I had no idea what this was, so I hopped on, and it flung me into the universal bottomless pit. I was awe struck by the fact that this level just got even more ridiculous; I had to fare with 2D's clunky controls and move around to get to the next randomly placed waterfall, but I also had to jump to get to it because otherwise gravity would have defeated the speed I was going. You expected me to figure this all out on first try?

You would think that a level as masochistic as this would be generous enough to give you check points after each individual part. Granted, there are plenty of opportunities for 1ups, even at a certain checkpoint, but there's only three checkpoints throughout the entire level, if memory serves correct. For how irritatingly easy it is to die in this level, you would expect twice as many checkpoints.

Probably what makes this level the least enjoyable, however, is that the wad requires you to play as Sonic at the Single Player character select screen. If you could play as either Tails or Knuckles, a lot of the problems of this level could have possibly been dismissed. The only thing Sonic can do in this level that doesn't have a high chance of harming himself is jumping.

To wrap it up, this has some of the most horrible, frustratingly thoughtless level design I've ever seen in an SRB2 wad. It seems to me as if you put in all your effort to create the NSMB theme and completely disregarded the gameplay as a whole. It really hurt, and it just droned on and on and on....

But I did complete this; I'm not afraid to do what it takes for a complete level review. And to ensure the review was full, I also decided to test this in ShufflarB2. As far as controls and physics go, this seemed far more suited for the level, and I can imagine having a lot less frustration with it. Unfortunately, the question blocks don't seem to work here, so the level is unplayable from the start.
[/spoiler:164fbec208]North Pole Factory Zone by SonicMaster - 7/10

This is a pretty standard level; good old branching paths, good old level gimmicks.... I personally thought this had some pretty clever level design elements, to be honest. Most of these have to deal with different types of moving platforms, but every once in a while, there will also be a button that you may or may not notice in the room, and it will allow you to get to the alternative path; these are, of course, entirely optional, and they're not abusive in the least. Plenty of areas that encourage you to do a bit of thinking to get to the next part, mainly because not all of them are used the same way as every other level in existence, so it's a nice change of pace. There were only a few paths that I thought were a bit bland, and I do feel this also had a touch of Mystic Realm syndrome, because it's sort of hard to figure out which path leads to the goal and which leads in the opposite direction. This generally has a good sense of direction, though.

This is worth a replay or two; the difficulty is medium -- a little on the easy side -- but I think players of any skill level will find some good entertainment in this.

Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade the Hedgehog 6/10

The header for this level appears to be nonexistent.

The level itself is a good level for beginners, which it was clearly intended for, considering the enemies and theme. The springed badnik is a very nice addition, making it easier to get to certain items or places, and it definitely suits a beginning level such as this. There are plenty of different paths and things to collect (even a hidden emerald shrine -- goody goody), so it's pretty SRB2 standard, just like the last level. I can't say there's really anything that caught my attention in the level, though.... It just wasn't particularly engaging, I guess. All in all a fairly good level.

One last word of advice: I found a couple incorrect linedefs when I spindashed into the goal post and looked backwards. You might want to fix that.

Mr E Special Stage 1 by Glaber 5/10

Okay, I think I see what you're going for here. As far as a beginning special stage goes, this delivers essentially the right difficulty and doesn't introduce anything that a new player wouldn't anticipate. As far as I'm concerned, however, the level wasn't exactly "fun", it simply wasn't frustrating. The stage is actually really straightforward and requires no thought whatsoever to get through. The only challenge is the fact you have to collect the majority of all of the rings to complete the level, and the time limit forces you not to dawdle; the player essentially only finishes with about 10-30 seconds left, from what it seems. I believe you've got the difficulty part down pat; the only real suggestion I would give to you for your next special stage (assuming this is a series...) is to focus on more engaging level design rather than harsher stage requirements. As a standalone level, this feels pretty mediocre.

Here are all the stage contest results for this contest. Starting with Match section.

Boringe by SonicMaster = 5/10

Okish, but there were some flaws. The rooms felt cramped, bland, and it felt a tad small. The flooding gimmick, and the point gimmicks were ok, but as Jellybones said, 3 points isn't a major change in score, and people can easily abuse it. Set it so players can not abuse it, but it's available at a certain point e.g. a no tag zone, just to stop players abusing it. Also add some scenery to your map, and make it bigger.

Toxic Plant Zone by me = yep it's my map.

Rook's Valley Zone by Drake Spyker = 6/10

A bit too small for my tastes, but the idea was pretty cool though, especially the teleport gimmick. You also forgot your colormaps for the water sectors, also chuck in a bit more scenery in. Yes, I saw some, but I think you need a bit more in to make it better. If you made it bigger, it would of been a 7.

Destiny Islands Zone by Darkness Claw = 5/10

A neat idea, but it wasn't completely executed well. First, the majority of the level is a bit bland (particularly the top bit) except for the island itself, plus it majorly lagged bad in most of the stage because you have too many sectors closed in together. Add some more stuff in, especially the bland spots.

Castle de space by SpaceKGreen = 7/10

Best match map in the match section. There's tons of scenery, there's a lot of places to look around in, and it's perfect for big group netgames. My only small complaint is it can be frustrating in small group games due to it's size, also it lags in one spot near the side of one edge that leads to a deathpit (can't remember which bit it was) it can also attract RP/Hangout games, but I don't think it'd happen a lot on this map. But yes, very good.

Now the SP section.

New Super Mario Zone by FawfulFan = 2/10

Oh no, I can see where this is going. The design was very cramped, very frustrating, and difficult. The textures looked like you was inside a giant cake (referring to walls) it was a neat idea however, but very poorly executed. The enemy spries are too big, they arn't supposed to be as big, or nearly as high as Sonic.

Mr.E Special Stage 1 by Glaber = 2/10

Come on Glaber, I can expect better from you, this stage is pretty much small, boring, and lacked in challenge.

North Pole Factory Zone by SonicMaster = 5/10

It was ok, but I expected more from you. Most of that stage was either cramped, or very bland, it just didn't have hardly any life to it whatsoever except for that retarded voice sound in one of the rooms. There were a few cheap deaths in the stage as well. The enemy placement & the level idea was good however, but it just felt a bit rushed to me.

Sapphire Falls Act 2 by Blade = 6/10

Despite it being short, I thought this was the best one in the SP section. It had nice scenery, I really liked the Sonic Triple trouble enemy, that was cool, but your enemy placement seemed a bit overdone in some places, particularly the cave area. It also felt a bit empty in some areas too, but it was a nice map though.

Now the CTF section.

Space Base by Jellybones69 = 6/10

Not bad map, but it seemed a bit small. The only intresting gimmick was the meteors in the outside area with the diagonal springs. If you are going to make a space themed stage, add low gravity to it (despite it would be too easy in this level) Space has low gravity, and the gravity is high for a space theme, otherwise no other flaws.

Overheated Zone by SonicMaster = 6/10

Not a bad map, but there were some flaws. Your passageways are cramped, especially the team bases, widen them up a bit. Also, it's very bland in some parts of the stage, add some more stuff in. The size of the level, and the level idea was nice however, but when you respawn, you can easily take the higher area in the map, into the other team base within a couple of seconds, so this map is only good really in larger netgames. Also change the level music, Midnight abyss' theme in this level doesn't really suit. Something like Red Volcano's theme would be more suitable in my opinion.

Last, but not least, the race section.

Heavenly Fountain Zone by SonicMaster = 6/10
Ok, but somewhat frustrating. The pathways were cramped, and the teleports were pretty frustrating. Some of the springs didn't even make it to some platforms without the person having to push harder on the up button to make it there. The fountain was a pretty cool gimmick however.

Aqueduct Circuit Zone by Ezer Arch = 8/10

Wow, I loved this level, I really liked the design, the size was just passable, and it was just fun to play. I can't see any flaws with it except the last starpost was added a bit too late before the finish line, otherwise if I wanted to see some custom levels to be in the offical srb2, this would be one of them. Nice work.

__________________
Everyone is entitled to their own truthful opinion on this planet...

So Hyperknux is the first to comment on the stupid Easter Egg, I see. It was meant to startle the player, nothing more. The idea came from Kuja beta testing it, when the original sound--or should I say, MIDI--was actually a lot louder than I had meant.

Sapphire Coast Zone Act 2Author: Blade the HedgehogRating: 5/10Comments: There was nothing obviously bad about the level--that was good. The new enemies were extremely clever, and the rushing water was well executed. But the level also felt kind of short and plain. The gimmicks were great, but the level also could have been a lot better in terms of general design.

Mr. E Special Stage 1Author: GlaberRating: 3/10Comments: I would have enjoyed this stage a lot more if the 1.09 special stage textures had been used. Even then, however, there's just nothing inherently interesting about this level. Aside from the cool pictures in the center, it doesn't have anything the official special stages don't have.

North Pole Factory ZoneAuthor: SonicMasterRating: 6/10Comments: Not one of SonicMaster's better creations. The design was confusing and a tad frustrating. That said, it was probably the best level in this contest. Once again, I cast my vote--if a tad reluctantly--for SonicMaster.

New Super Mario ZoneAuthor: fawfulfanRating: N/A/10Comments: Dang! It seems as though I made another unplayable mess. I was counting on the numerous gimmicks in the level to win people over, but it seems as though gimmicks are nothing when playability is bad. I'll remember that in my future creations.

Conclusion: It seems as though this wasn't the best contest for Single Player levels--nothing like the endless array of masterpieces two months ago. I'll look forward to seeing the other reviews of the levels.

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Just another indie game developer...check out my website, Chapman Games!

New Super Mario ZoneAuthor: fawfulfanRating: 4/10 (Note: I'm not voting for myself, so don't get mad that I rated my own level!)Comments: Dang! It seems as though I made another unplayable mess. I was counting on the numerous gimmicks in the level to win people over, but it seems as though gimmicks are nothing when playability is bad. I'll remember that in my future creations.

New Super Mario Zone, 3/10I thought I set a standard here. This was actually otherwise quite enjoyable (if you NOCLIPped at the beginning, skipping the button), with lots of great scenery, but it had serious playability issues. I didn't want to go and try to attempt the water conveyor belts a second time, and holding right to make it onto a ledge does not help. Also, some of the collision is a little glitchy. For that place, you need to make sure it DOESN'T have a death pit, thank you. (It's at the part with the standard stair climb to get to the end of a level, which oddly enough, is not the end of the level.)

North Pole Factory Zone, NA/10
Well, this kinda was gathering dust. I made it right after Poison Palace Zone. I released this because my other level wasn't finished yet.

Sapphire Coast Zone Act 2, 6/10
Despite my previous voting, this is better than Act 1. It's well-built, with a lot of speed and platforming, but nothing really interesting. It could, like others say, stand to be longer.

Mr. E Special Stage, 3/10
Boring, bland, and with an unreasonable ring requirement. Why did you concentrate so many Rings at the center of the map? That was pretty lame.

I've commented on somethings, comments on the rest will come when/if I feel like it.

Single Player (Played on normal difficulty, in coop, and in XSRB2):
New Super Mario Zone by fawfulfan: 2/10
blind jumps, weird ending sequence, but the rest was somewhat good.

North Pole Factory Zone by SonicMaster: 6/10
This kept sigsevving the host when we tried to play it, so I played this in single player.
In any case, pretty good, but some parts seemed bland.

Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade the Hedgehog: 5/10
I didn't take off points for the header not being there, but other than that, it was pretty bland. On the other hand, it was fun to screw around with the new enemy.

Mr E Special Stage 1 by Glaber: 3/10

Match (Played on Normal difficulty, with 2-3 people (this was before the topic was made, so not a lot of people had the link), and with random monitors on):
MAPA1 - Boringe by SonicMaster: 5/10

MAPA2 - Toxic Plant Zone by HyperKnux: 5/10
Lost a point because you couldn't jump out of the slime, you needed to use a spring.